On September 3rd 1973, at 6:28pm and 32 seconds, a bluebottle fly capable of 14,670 wing beats a minute landed on Rue St Vincent, Montmartre. At the same moment, on a restaurant terrace nearby, the wind magically made two glasses dance unseen on a tablecloth. Meanwhile, in a 5th-floor flat, 28 Avenue Trudaine, Paris 9, returning from his best friend's funeral, Eugène Colère erased his name from his address book. At the same moment, a sperm with one X chromosome, belonging to Raphaël Poulain, made a dash for an egg in his wife Amandine. Nine months later, Amélie Poulain was born.

— narrator, Amelie

On September 3rd 1973, at 6:28pm and 32 seconds, a bluebottle fly capable of 14,670 wing beats a minute landed on Rue St Vincent, Montmartre. At the same moment, on a restaurant terrace nearby, the wind magically made two glasses dance unseen on a tablecloth. Meanwhile, in a 5th-floor flat, 28 Avenue Trudaine, Paris 9, returning from his best friend's funeral, Eugène Colère erased his name from his address book. At the same moment, a sperm with one X chromosome, belonging to Raphaël Poulain, made a dash for an egg in his wife Amandine. Nine months later, Amélie Poulain was born.

— narrator, Amelie

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the absurd film festival

the absurd film festival

The Absurd Film Festival focuses on the cult-classic surreal films that poke fun at mundane everyday life situations. Exaggerated elements and pops of delight are common in these films. In October 2018, the one-time festival will be held at The Northwest Film Forum, a place that is known for hosting one-of-a-kind special gems. The crowd will be people who are huge fans of the films being shown, seekers of small pleasures and big imaginations, overall film and art buffs, and people who like off-beat material. The event is family friendly with age appropriate films being offered throughout.

I needed to develop branding and a thorough advertising campaign to highlight the unique aspects of the festival. It needed to be consistent, eye-catching, and recognizable — equal parts mysterious and engaging.

— my roles

identity

layout

illustration

advertising

motion

— my tools

illustrator

indesign

photoshop

after effects

I decided to play with one of the most popular pieces from surrealist art, Renee Magritte's This is not a pipe. The tagline, This is not a film festival, was born, and the rest of the branding elements were based around it. The campaign focused on placing the tagline and the concept of mismatched labels with cohesive illustrations in a variety of spaces around town. Repetition was important here.

I decided to play with what is the most popular reference to surrealist art, Renee Magritte's This is not a pipe. The tagline, This is not a film festival, was born, and the rest of the branding elements were based around it. The campaign focused on placing the tagline and the concept of mismatched labels with cohesive illustrations in a variety of spaces around town. Repetition was important here.

Each poster disects a different movie. The layout resembles an old scientific or mechanical drawing, while I have incorporated humor and clever copywriting.

The campaign is intellectual and conceptual, so on the marketing side to make sure it resonates with a large audience, I made sure to highlight the website and sponsor info if people desire to learn more.

It was important to have an online presence too. I created a series of promotional videos to lead up to the event. The intention was to release one video a week, each playing off of the video from the previous week. The story behind the video elevates the concept of discovering what truly makes up the images you are seeing, like Magritte'sThis Is Not a Pipe.

If you are reading this, it is because your browser does not support the HTML5 video element.

If you are reading this, it is because your browser does not support the HTML5 video element.

If you are reading this, it is because your browser does not support the HTML5 video element.